Miamisburg schools present new safety measures to parents

by Allen Henry

Thursday, August 16th 2018

Miamisburg schools present new safety measures to parents (WKEF/WRGT)

MIAMISBURG, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) - Wednesday night, parents in the Miamisburg City Schools district heard from a ten-person panel on school safety. The panel included a state school board member, the Montgomery County Sheriff and even a student

Abigayl Cochran is now a senior at Miamisburg High School, but 6 months ago, she saw the tragedy in Parkland, Florida unfold. She was finishing her junior year, and was terrified the same thing could happen in her own school.

“It was really scary as a student to come to school every day,” Cochran said.

Since February, Cochran said she’s been talking and working with administrators, and feels safer.

"At first it was really scary, but once I saw the other side, and saw how much effort is being put into it, it was so comforting," Cochran said.

Cochran was a member of the panel Wednesday to talk about safety in Miamisburg’s schools.

Superintendent David Veil said students have been very vocal in their opinions on school safety ever since the Parkland shooting in February. His goal for Wednesday’s meeting was to tell parents about their efforts to keep more than five thousand students and 700 employees safe.

According to Veil, there are more than 500 surveillance cameras installed across the district, and he said they're introducing some new tools this school year.

"We do have some new social things. One of them is the social media monitoring and another is a screening for mental health for anxiety, for depression and alcohol and drug abuse. We're looking at the whole aspect,” Veil said.

Veil said school safety is something that is always changing and being improved, but what hasn't changed is the importance of parents.

“Monitor your child's social media. Keep an eye on that. That's your phone. You do what you need to do. Be a parent, have those conversations with them,” Veil said. “If something's on there, if you see something, hear something, please let someone know, say something. That communication is key."

Superintendent Veil said he's also working on getting an additional school resource officer for the district.

He said that deal is about 99 percent done, and expects that officer to start January 1.